Romanus IV

Romanos IV Diogenes also known as Romanus IV, was the Byzantine emperor from 1068 to 1071. He was a member of the Byzantine military aristocracy and became Emperor when he married the widowed empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa. He tried to stop the decline of his armies and to stop Turkish army from attacking the Byzantine Empire. In 1071 he was captured and his army defeated at the Battle of Manzikert. While he was still a prisoner, he was replaced as emperor. After his release he was quickly defeated and detained by members of the Doukas family. In 1072, he was blinded and sent to a monastery, where he died of his wounds.

Romanus IV Media

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  Romanos IV pictured in the 15th century Codex Mutinensis graecus.

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  Gold histamenon of Romanos IV: Michael VII Doukas flanked by his brothers Andronikos and Konstantios on the obverse, Romanos IV and Eudokia Makrembolitissa crowned by Christ on the reverse

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  Copper follis of Romanos IV. The obverse shows Christ Pantokrator, while the reverse depicts a cross quartered with the letters ϹΒΡΔ for the motto Σταυρὲ σου βοήθει Ρωμανόν δεσπότην ("Thy Cross aid the Lord Romanos").

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  Alp Arslan humiliating Emperor Romanos IV. From a 15th-century illustrated French translation of Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium.